China and Russia are moving forward hand-in-hand along the right path, Xi Jinping said in his message
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have exchanged New Year greetings.
In his message, Xi extended his “best wishes to Putin and the Russian people,” the State Council of the People’s Republic of China said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Chinese leader noted that 2024 had marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Moscow and Beijing, which “have grown more mature and stable” over the intervening period.
“In face of accelerating transformation unseen in a century and a volatile international landscape, China and Russia always move forward hand-in-hand along the right path of non-alliance, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third party,” he said.
Xi noted that he had met Putin face-to-face three times and maintained regular contact through other means this year, having “candid exchanges of views and reach[ing] broad consensus on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common concern.”
Under the guidance of the Chinese and Russian leaders, “political mutual trust and strategic coordination between the two sides have been advancing toward higher levels,” he wrote.
Cooperation between Beijing and Moscow within BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is “contributing significantly to solidarity and cooperation among the Global South,” the Chinese leader said.
The “good-neighborly friendship” and comprehensive strategic coordination between the two nations is “injecting strong momentum into [their] development and modernization... safeguarding international fairness and justice,” he added.
Xi expressed readiness to continue exchanges with Putin in order to deepen China-Russia ties even further.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Xi was among 30 foreign leaders to whom Putin had sent greetings ahead of the New Year. It did not disclose the content of the Russian president’s message to his Chinese counterpart.
Top officials from India, Brazil, South Africa, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, North Korea, Türkiye, and Serbia also received greetings from Putin, according to the Kremlin.
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December 31, 2024 at 12:18AM
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The country’s leadership has hollowed out the nation and turned it into a “concentration camp,” Vladimir Shylov has said
The Ukrainian state has essentially ceased to exist as it is plagued by endemic institutional failure and corruption, with Kiev's troops continuing to hold on by sheer will alone, a former commander has argued. He also warned that Ukraine’s defenses could collapse, allowing Russia to march all the way to the Dnieper River.
In an interview with Novyni Live on Monday, Vladimir Shylov, former commander of the 3rd Company in the 134th Separate Territorial Defense Battalion, lashed out at Ukraine’s political leadership, stating that the country has “ceased to exist” as a functional state due to widespread graft and mismanagement.
Shylov expressed concern that these woes could allow Russian forces to make even more gains, adding that they may be able to overrun frontline positions in Donbass and reach as far as the Dnieper River. He argued that these advances could be facilitated by internal chaos, stating, “In our country, everything is a mess...the front is holding only thanks to the Ukrainian people.”
He accused Ukrainian leaders of transforming the nation into a “concentration camp,” highlighting systemic failures across all branches of government, including the legislative, executive, and judicial sectors. Shylov emphasized the pervasive corruption, suggesting it has severely undermined the country’s defense capabilities.
Shylov also specifically criticized the country’s leader, Vladimir Zelensky, for what he described as a blatant neglect of his defense responsibilities, alleging that his government had ignored Western warnings of a Russian offensive prior to the special military operation, resulting in the inadequate preparation of Kiev’s forces.
The ex-commander went on to comment on Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, portraying it as a political ploy without any real strategic military value. He argued that the Ukrainian offensive had turned out to be a symbolic gesture which does not compensate for the substantial territorial losses Ukraine has suffered, particularly in Donbass.
Over the past several months, Russia has made significant gains in Donbass and elsewhere, with President Vladimir Putin noting that regular advances now amount to kilometers rather than hundreds of meters.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said earlier this month that Ukraine had lost one million service members since February 2022, with more than half of that number in 2024 alone, adding that Moscow’s forces are in full control of the strategic initiative.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian battlefield commanders continue to complain of a critical shortage of manpower, despite Kiev implementing stricter mobilization rules and lowering the draft age from 27 to 25 this spring.
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December 30, 2024 at 11:48PM
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Moscow says that it is ready for peace talks but will continue its advances as long as Kiev remains reluctant to negotiate
Russian authorities do not believe that the fighting between Moscow and Kiev can be stopped at the moment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Peskov was asked by RIA-Novosti on Monday if there are currently any prerequisites for ending the Ukraine conflict.
The spokesman gave a short but conclusive reply: “No.”
He had reiterated last week that Russia “remains open to talks” to end the hostilities. “However, since there has been no progress in terms of Ukraine’s readiness for negotiations, we are continuing with our [military] operation,” Peskov stressed.
According to the spokesman, the dynamics on the battlefield “are self-evident: we are on the advance.”
In the fall of 2022, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree banning the Kiev government from any talks with Moscow. The legislation remains in force.
Throughout the conflict, Zelensky and his Western backers have been discussing his so-called ‘peace formula,’ which demanded that Russia withdraw from Crimea and the other territories claimed by Ukraine – the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which officially became part of the Russian state as a result of referendums in late 2022. It also called for Moscow to pay reparations and for the formation of a war crimes tribunal.
Russian authorities have rejected this proposal as unacceptable, “detached from reality” and a sign of Kiev’s unwillingness to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
However, the Ukrainian leader has recently abandoned his talk of “victory,” claiming instead that he wants a “just peace,” coupled with security guarantees from the West in the form of NATO membership, with the status of the new Russian regions undetermined.
Last week, the Washington Post reported, citing a senior member of Zelensky’s government, that officials in Kiev are “starting to believe” that the conflict with Russia will be resolved in 2025. The shift in attitude is a direct result of US President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to put a swift end to the fighting once he returns to office, according to the paper.
During his end-of-year press conference earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is open to negotiations with Kiev without any preconditions other than those already agreed in Istanbul in 2022.
These terms involve a neutral, non-aligned status for Ukraine – prohibiting it from joining NATO – as well as restrictions on the deployment of foreign weaponry in the country. Putin also stressed that any talks must take into account the realities on the ground that have emerged since 2022.
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December 30, 2024 at 02:08AM
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The Israeli PM was set to appear in court last week to give testimony in his corruption trial
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is recovering following surgery, the Times of Israel has reported, citing a statement from his office.
Netanyahu, 75, was recently diagnosed with a urinary tract infection resulting from a benign enlargement of the prostate and reportedly underwent a prostatectomy on Sunday.
“The surgery ended successfully without complications,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, as quoted by the news outlet. “The prime minister has woken up, is in good condition and is completely conscious.”
Netanyahu has been placed in a fortified underground hospital ward in Jerusalem amid fears he could be targeted by rocket or missile fire amid the ongoing war, noted the outlet.
According to Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli prime minister has reportedly been suffering from an enlarged prostate for over a decade, having undergone treatment in 2014. The covert procedures, which were only revealed to the public nearly a year later, involved nighttime hospital visits with elaborate disguises, including decoy vehicles made to look like a pita-bread delivery truck and a pest exterminator's van.
Netanyahu was scheduled to appear in court last week to provide testimony in his corruption trial, however the hearing was cancelled due to the surgery, according to Haaretz newspaper. No new date has been set yet.
The prime minister was charged with fraud, bribery, and breach of trust in three cases filed in 2019. The trial began in May 2020 but has suffered delays, first due to the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently because of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that the indictments were part of a politically charged witch hunt aimed at removing him from office.
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December 30, 2024 at 01:19AM
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The probe will mark a critical step toward New Delhi’s’ long-term vision of establishing its own space station
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the country’s first Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) on Monday in an effort to demonstrate the docking of two satellites in orbit. The mission is a critical step toward India’s long-term vision of establishing its own space station.
Dubbed the Bharatiya Docking System, the mission is set for launch into low Earth orbit on board ISRO’s trusted workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Lift-off is planned for Monday evening from Sriharikota, located off the Odisha coast, according to an official statement.
The primary objective of the SpaDeX mission is to develop and demonstrate the technology needed for the rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft in a low-Earth circular orbit, the Indian space agency said.
ISRO described the SpaDeX as a “cost-effective technology demonstrator mission” that is essential for India’s space ambitions, such as sending a first Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040, returning a sample from the Moon, and the building and operation of the country’s own space station.
If executed successfully, India will join the group of only three space powers – Russia, US and China – that have mastered in-orbit satellite docking.
The mission will also use the PS4-Orbital Experiment Module (POEM, India’s unique initiative that repurposes the used fourth stage of the PSLV. Instead of becoming space debris after deploying the mission’s primary payloads, this stage is used as a platform for conducting in-orbit microgravity experiments. A total of 24 payloads will be flown using POEM, of which 14 payloads are from ISRO centres and 10 payloads are from various academia and start-ups, the space agency said.
In 2024, ISRO has achieved a number of milestones. It conducted dozens of satellite launches, including a test launch of the PSLV-C58 X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) to study astronomical sources, such as black holes and neutron stars, which was only the second X-ray polarimetry mission in the world, after Nasa’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).
India’s maiden solar mission Aditya-L1 reached the designated destination127 days after it was launched on September 2, 2023 – after travelling a distance of 1.5-million kilometers.
This year, India also advanced its human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan. ISRO has begun assembling the Human Rated Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (HLVM3) for Gaganyaan’s first uncrewed flight, set for early next year. Planned for launch by late 2026, India aims to send a three-member crew to a 400 km orbit for a three-day mission, returning them safely to Earth.
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December 30, 2024 at 12:48AM
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Robert Fico has sent a letter to the bloc’s leaders, urging action on a looming gas transit halt by Ukraine
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has sent an open letter to European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging immediate action to address Ukraine’s imminent halt of natural gas transit through its territory to the EU.
A transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine is set to expire on December 31. Kiev has refused to extend it, citing the conflict with Moscow.
In a letter posted on Facebook on Sunday, Fico accused Kiev of failing to consider the potential impact its decision will have on the EU economy. Brussels’ acceptance of the situation is “absolutely irrational and wrong,” he stressed.
Gas transit through Ukraine accounts for only 3.5% of EU consumption, the letter states, citing an analysis carried out by Slovakia’s main gas supplier and trader, SPP. Despite the modest share, any halt would disrupt the market, raising gas prices by roughly 30%, the document claims. Such a price spike would translate to an additional annual cost of € 40-50 billion for European households and infrastructure, Fico argued.
“It is in the interest of all EU citizens that European efforts to support Ukraine should be carried out rationally, and not in the form of self-destructive and extremely damaging gestures,” the Slovak prime minister noted. Kiev’s decision will lead to “reciprocal measures,” he warned.
Fico also said Russia “will easily place such a small volume of gas in other markets,” thus mitigating its losses.
The situation requires urgent attention from EU institutions and member states to mitigate risks of supply shortages, he added.
Landlocked Slovakia’s position within Europe's energy network makes it highly susceptible to disruptions in natural gas supply. The country is reliant on Russia for around 85% of its gas demand, primarily through pipelines transiting Ukraine.
Fico has repeatedly voiced concerns regarding EU energy policy. He has consistently advocated for pragmatic approaches to energy security, often clashing with Brussels on its approach to the Ukraine conflict, namely the issue of military support to Kiev and the issue of economic sanctions against Russia.
European Union leaders have repeatedly expressed confidence in the bloc's ability to manage without Russian gas, accusing Moscow of using energy as a geopolitical weapon.
Swedish burial services are reportedly preparing to ensure casket funerals for thousands of people
Funeral associations in Sweden are looking to secure enough land to bury thousands of people in the event of a war, the Associated Press has reported. The Nordic country joined NATO earlier this year, amid the US-led military bloc’s growing involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
The burial association in Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, is trying to acquire additional land to ensure casket sites for some 30,000 dead, on top of what is needed for graveyards for regular use, AP wrote on Saturday.
Swedish media outlets reported earlier this month that the authorities were bracing for up to half a million potential fatalities if the country were to enter a full-scale war.
“In big cities… land resources are scarce to begin with and not always sufficient to meet burial ground needs even in times of calm and peace,” AP quoted Katarina Evenseth, senior advisor at the Goteborg Burial Association, as saying.
In October, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) released updated civil preparedness guides with instructions on how to survive during an armed conflict. The brochure, dubbed “In case of crisis or war,” contains advice on evacuation, how to stop bleeding, and other recommendations.
“The national security situation has changed drastically, and we all need to strengthen our resilience to various crises and, ultimately, war,” MSB Director General Mikael Frisell said in a statement last month.
Stockholm dropped decades of military non-alliance and joined NATO in March, amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The US-led bloc has been supporting Kiev by providing military aid, and in November, Washington authorized strikes using its missiles deep inside Russian territory. France has also suggested that Ukraine should be allowed to fire its missiles into Russia in self-defense, and Moscow has claimed that British-supplied Storm Shadows have already been used in such strikes.
Moscow has reiterated that the move makes NATO a direct party to the conflict.
According to critics of Stockholm’s accession to NATO, Sweden has become a potential target in the event of a war.
”The Swedish people are facing a brutal reality where they are expected to adapt to a rhetoric of war that is not only foreign, but also deeply frightening… Instead of prioritizing peacekeeping efforts, politicians choose to place the country in a position where it risks becoming a battlefield for the power games of major powers,” Swedish conservative online platform Kulturbilder wrote earlier this month.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson stated in October that Russia posed a threat to Sweden, and that the country could not rule out a Russian attack. Several other NATO members, such as Poland and the Baltic countries, have voiced similar concerns.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the claims as nonsense. Last week the Russian leader reiterated that Moscow was “striving to end the conflict.”
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December 29, 2024 at 02:18AM
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The passenger jet had also been rendered inoperable by electronic warfare means, Ilham Aliyev has claimed
The passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan earlier this week had been struck from the ground near the Russian city of Grozny, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has claimed.
An Embraer 190, operating as Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny, diverted to Kazakhstan and crashed on Wednesday, killing 38 out of the 67 people onboard.
In a Sunday interview with the state-run broadcaster AzTV, Aliyev claimed that the aircraft “was damaged from the outside on Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost got out of control.”
“We are also aware that our aircraft was rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare means... In addition, the tail section of the plane was severely damaged by fire from the ground,” he said.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
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December 29, 2024 at 01:44AM
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Kiev’s UN ambassador Andrey Melnik has said that securing commitments from Western allies is the nation’s top priority now
Kiev’s main goal at present is to obtain meaningful security guarantees, which are not necessarily tied to the country’s NATO membership, Ukraine’s newly-appointed ambassador to the UN Andrey Melnik has said. The diplomat made the remarks in an interview published by Germany’s Berliner Morgenpost on Friday.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the leadership in Kiev has consistently named accession to the US-led military bloc as one of its top priorities. Russia has, in turn, singled out the threat of NATO military infrastructure appearing on its Western border as one of the reasons it initiated its special operation against the neighboring nation.
“NATO membership remains on the table for Ukraine,” Melnik said. He went on to clarify that “nevertheless, the question of security guarantees as an interim solution is central to us.” The diplomat stressed that any such arrangements must go beyond mere political pledges akin to the ones given to Kiev under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Under the accord, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees provided by the US, the UK and Russia.
The Ukrainian ambassador noted that “our partners must meticulously write down what military assistance they would rush to the rescue to defend Ukraine, should it be attacked by Russia again.” Melnik told the newspaper that both bilateral and multilateral agreements could be considered, as long as they are binding under international law.
“These could also be part of a potential large peace treaty with Russia,” the Ukrainian diplomat added.
He also brushed aside predictions that US President-elect Donald Trump could drastically reduce or terminate Washington’s aid to Kiev altogether. Melnik concurred with the Republican, however, that European NATO member states should come to the fore in terms of their own defense and military assistance to Ukraine. The ambassador expressed hope that the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party, Friedrich Merz, billed by many observers as the future chancellor, would heed Trump’s advice.
The Ukrainian diplomat insisted that European NATO member states are affluent enough, and can afford to spend a lot more on defense.
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December 29, 2024 at 12:38AM
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The Russian foreign minister has expressed incredulity at the International Chess Federation’s strict dress code
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed his shock at the International Chess Federation’s (FIDE) harsh dress code enforcement, which led to Norwegian champion Magnus Carlsen storming out a tournament in protest. The diplomat noted that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelesnky gets away with routinely flouting the formal dress code at official international events, and sporting military-style attire.
Speaking to Russia’s Kommersant newspaper on Sunday, Lavrov said: “The fact that world champion Magnus Carlsen was essentially booted out [of a competition] for appearing in jeans leaves me surprised, if not dumbfounded.” The Russian foreign minister clarified that while not a chess player himself, he follows the game.
“Then you need to kick Zelensky out of everywhere over dress code, this would solve many problems,” the official added.
Since the escalation of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022, the Ukrainian leader has switched from the usual formal dress to military-style outfits, including cargo pants, hoodies and fleece jackets.
On Friday, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the World Rapid and Blitz Championship after refusing to change out of his jeans. According to a statement by the FIDE released the following day, the Norwegian had breached the dress code, as denim trousers are explicitly prohibited under “long-standing regulations for this event.”
The Federation said the five-time world chess champion had been informed of the breach, slapped with a $200 fine, and asked to change his attire. Carlsen, however, refused to comply and was disqualified from the Blitz Championship.
Another player, Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, was also fined for wearing sports shoes, but unlike the Norwegian chess prodigy, agreed to change his footwear.
Commenting on his disqualification, Carlsen told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK: “I am pretty tired of FIDE, so I want no more of this.” In a separate interview, the 34-year-old recounted how he barely had time to get changed ahead of the game.
“I put on a shirt, a jacket, even changed my shoes. And honestly, I didn’t even think about the jeans,” the world champion claimed. He said that when asked to change his jeans immediately, “it became a bit of a matter of principle for me.”
Carlsen has not appealed the disqualification, saying he is “too old at this point to care too much” and will probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a “bit nicer.”
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December 28, 2024 at 11:03PM
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Ukrainian soldiers do not believe in victory over Russia anymore, the Washington Post has reported
Ukrainian troops are exhausted from three years of combat and increasingly want to see a negotiated end to the conflict with Russia, the Washington Post has reported, citing sources in the country’s military.
Kiev’s troops, who previously expressed a readiness to fight until they had won back all land lost to Moscow, do not believe this goal to be achievable anymore, the outlet said in an article on Thursday.
“We used to talk about victory before, now it is unclear,” Kirill, a deputy battalion commander with Ukraine’s 33rd Mechanized Brigade, stationed in Dnepropetrovsk Region, told WaPo.
Kirill acknowledged that “there is no good mood” among his fellow soldiers. “The morale keeps sinking lower and lower, getting worse and worse,” he stressed.
“It cannot go on like this,” another member of the same unit, Felix, said of the situation on the front line. “We are withdrawing. And they [the Russians] are pushing further and further. What kind of victory will happen?”
Felix claimed that the troops are “simply exhausted” and want the fighting to stop. If the officials in Kiev “cannot put an end to it, maybe Mr. Trump can,” he suggested.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to find a swift diplomatic solution to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev once he is back in office. However, according to the report, some troops are concerned that the incoming US administration might cut their military in order to persuade Ukraine to make territorial concessions to Russia as part of a future peace deal.
“I am worried we will just be abandoned,” Aleksandr, who is a soldier in the 33rd Mechanized Brigade, said. “Those are the thoughts that creep in — that the support and deliveries from our allies, the ammunition, will just stop. If we don’t have that, we won’t have anything to shoot with.”
Manpower shortages are another issue contributing to the “grim” mood among the Ukrainian troops, WaPo noted. “Do we even have infantry? It is down to a couple of guys, and they are over 50 years old. What are they going to do?” a drone operator named Denis, told the outlet.
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Moscow is open to holding consultations with Trump’s team on resolving the Ukraine conflict. However, those talks must be “meaningful” and take into account the root causes of the conflict and the principles laid out by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year.
In June, Putin said that for the negotiations to begin, Kiev has to commit to not joining NATO and withdraw its troops from the territories that became part of Russia as a result referendums in the fall of 2022, including the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as well as the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye.
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December 28, 2024 at 12:19AM
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The decision will apply to the remaining French bases in the African nation
Senegal will close all foreign military bases on its territory as part of the government’s efforts to review defense policy and strengthen national sovereignty, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced on Friday.
The Senegalese premier announced the decision in the National Assembly during a general policy presentation, in which he outlined a strategy for the West African nation’s transformation over the coming 25 years.
“The President of the Republic has decided to close all foreign military bases in the very near future,” Sonko stated.
The prime minister did not name any specific countries, but France is the only foreign power with troops stationed in Senegal.
France has suffered setbacks in several of its former African colonies amid a wave of anti-French sentiment sparked by perceived failures to counter militant insurgencies, and accusations of meddling and aggression.
The former colonial power had over 5,000 troops in the Sahel region as part of Operation Barkhane, a decade-long counter-insurgency mission that ended in late 2022 when Paris withdrew its army from Mali due to a breakdown in relations following Bamako’s May 2021 coup.
In December 2022, Paris withdrew troops from the Central African Republic (CAR), citing the closer relationship between the African country and Russia. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have all canceled military partnerships with Paris and turned to Moscow for assistance in combating terrorism, which has plagued the Sahel since 2011.
Earlier this month, France began withdrawing its forces from Chad after its last remaining ally in the Sahel terminated a bilateral military cooperation agreement in November. The former French colony claims the treaty no longer reflects the country’s security realities or the government’s expectation of full sovereignty.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has been in office for less than a year, first announced his decision to remove the French military presence from his country in an interview with AFP news agency late last month. He said the French army bases are “incompatible” with the West African country’s sovereignty.
France currently has 350 soldiers stationed in Senegal, but plans to reduce the contingent to 100 as part of a broader military reconfiguration in West and Central Africa.
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December 27, 2024 at 11:20PM
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The African country has suspended its defense treaty with Paris, saying it has become “completely obsolete”
France has handed over a military base to Chad as it withdraws troops from the Central African country, where the government has terminated its defense agreement with Paris, citing ineffectiveness.
The Chadian Army announced on Thursday that French forces had left in vehicles for the capital, N’Djamena, following their exit from the base at Faya-Largeau in the country’s north. According to a news summary on the Chadian Presidency website, an Antonov 124 aircraft left N’Djamena on the same day, carrying more than 70 tons of cargo bound for France.
Withdrawals are also expected from camps in the eastern city of Abeche and the capital, the landlocked nation’s chief of military staff said in a statement cited by local outlet Alwihda Info.
“The Army General Staff will keep the public informed about future disengagements from the Abeche and N’Djamena bases,” the army said.
“Around thirty soldiers were stationed in Faya,” the French Army General Staff also reportedly said, adding that the handover “will be followed by that of Abeche, then N’Djamena in the coming weeks.”
Paris had about 1,000 soldiers in Chad, which was the former colonial power’s last military ally in the Sahel after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger expelled French troops for allegedly failing to combat a deadly jihadist insurgency in the region. The three West African states have sought alternative alliances, including forging closer security ties with Russia.
In November, Chad, also a former French colony that gained independence in 1960, followed the lead of its Sahel neighbors and terminated its military cooperation agreement with France.
Earlier this month, Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno told reporters that the agreement, which had sought to strengthen security ties between his country and Paris, had become “completely obsolete.”
He said the treaty no longer reflected Chad’s security, geopolitical, and current strategic realities or the government’s legitimate expectations for the “full expression” of the country’s sovereignty.
On Thursday, the government reportedly emphasized its commitment to strengthening Chad’s “strategic independence and sovereignty” while maintaining a preference for international partnerships based on mutual respect and reciprocal interests.
Countries have stepped up efforts to move away from the greenback, data shows
The share of the US dollar in global foreign exchange reserves has dropped to its lowest in nearly 30 years, according to the latest data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The statistics tracked by the Washington-based institution show that the greenback’s share in official reserves dropped by 0.85% between July and September this year, and now stands at 57.4% – its lowest level since 1995. The IMF does not provide statistics for earlier years.
The IMF flagged the trend in June, when it noted in an official blog that the dollar’s decline was occurring amid diversification efforts by countries around the world. For instance, while data shows that the greenback’s share has been steadily dropping for the past three quarters, the share of “nontraditional” currencies has been gaining ground.
The greenback has also been ceding ground to the euro. In the third quarter, its share jumped to 20.02% compared to 19.75% in the second quarter. Global investmentsin the Japanese yen have surged for the past six quarters, with its share in Q3 amounting to 5.82%.
Data also showed a halt in the decline in the Chinese yuan’s share in global forex holdings, which lasted for nine quarters. In Q3, the yuan’s share rose to 2.17%.
Despite the downward trend, the dollar so far remains the preeminent reserve currency, IMF statistics show, with the euro firmly in second place.
The greenback’s long-standing status as the world’s dominant currency has been jeopardized in recent years amid concerns over soaring US debt and sanctions Washington has been placing on its rivals, including Russia.
As part of anti-Russia sanctions that followed the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the US cut off the country’s central bank from dollar transactions. It later banned the export of dollar banknotes to the country and spearheaded the drive to freeze Russian assets abroad. Foreign Affairs magazine wrote in June that the sanctions on Russia had “undoubtedly left other central banks wondering whether their own dollar-denominated rainy-day funds would be locked up should their governments run afoul of Washington.”
Meanwhile, sanctions have forced Russia to de-dollarize. According to September data, Moscow and its partners in the BRICS economic bloc are now using national currencies in 65% of mutual trade settlements. In a speech at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Washington’s weaponization of the dollar through sanctions and denying countries access to the Western financial system was a “big mistake” that will force them “to look for other alternatives, which is what is happening.”
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December 26, 2024 at 11:04PM
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The target “burned like a match” after a coordinated twin bombing, the military has said
Russian forces have staged a twin drone bomb strike to wipe out an apparently abandoned Ukrainian tank, the Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday, sharing footage of the attack.
A team of Russian airborne troops discovered the target near the frontline village of Verbovoe in Zaporozhye Region. The tank seemed largely intact, so the soldiers were ordered to destroy it to prevent its recovery by Ukrainian forces.
Doing so required precision maneuvering and teamwork by drone pilots, according to the report. One quadcopter aircraft dropped a small explosive charge on the anti-drone fence protecting the vehicle from the top, after which a second drone dropped a bomb directly through the open hatch.
Footage showed an explosion inside the tank and a major fire, in which the armor “burned like a match,” according to the ministry. The platoon commander who delivered the decisive strike said the turret had later completely detached from the tank’s main body.
Earlier this week, the Russian ministry showcased the work of mobile teams hunting for Ukrainian vehicles and other valuable targets in the same general area. Depending on the circumstances, they use man-portable anti-tank missiles or drones to directly engage the enemy or call in artillery strikes on Ukrainian positions, the report on Monday said.
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December 25, 2024 at 11:05PM
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One person has been killed by a blast in the city of Vladikavkaz
An explosion at a shopping mall in the Russian city of Vladikavkaz on Wednesday morning may have been caused by a drone, the local government has stated citing the Defense Ministry.
A fixed-wing robotic aircraft was shot down by Russian air defenses over the capital of North Ossetia, the head of the southern Russian republic, Sergey Menyailo, said on his Telegram account. He added that CCTV cameras show an explosion outside of Alania Mall.
Earlier in the day, the Russian military reported destroying 59 Ukrainian drones in Kiev’s latest barrage against Russia. Twenty-six were shot down over Bryansk Region, which borders Ukraine. The report did not mention North Ossetia or any other Russian part in the Caucasus. The ministry has yet to comment on Menyailo’s statement.
Menyailo previously confirmed the death of one woman following the mall blast and said that another person injured at the mall was taken to a hospital. That person’s injuries are not life-threatening, the official said.
The explosion started a fire at the upper central part of the building. Local firefighters managed to extinguish it after roughly an hour.
Vladikavkaz is located about 850km from Kiev-controlled territory. Ukrainian forces regularly launch long-range drone attacks deep inside Russia, which officials in Moscow describe as desperate attempts to compensate for defeats on the front line.
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December 25, 2024 at 12:24AM
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At least 28 people have been rescued after an airliner crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau, officials have confirmed
First responders have extricated numerous survivors from a plane crash near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on the Caspian Sea coast, according to local officials and videos from the scene.
The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR, which was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members when it went down on Wednesday morning. Officials have yet to provide the exact number of victims, although the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations has put the number of survivors at 28, including two children.
Local media have released footage from the scene showing some of the survivors. One woman is seen in a shell-shocked state but without signs of major injuries, as she is pulled from the hull of the plane while shouting out in pain. The clip also shows a man who was limping but had no other visible injuries.
Other heavily blurred videos from the scene appear to show the bodies of passengers who died in the crash.
According to local media, numerous Aktau residents have lined up at hospitals to donate blood for the victims.
Citing preliminary data, local officials said the tragedy was caused by a bird strike. News outlet Orda cited eyewitnesses as reporting that the impact affected one of the plane’s engines, prompting an oxygen cylinder to explode, with many passengers being rendered unconscious.
Kazakh authorities have announced the creation of a special commission to investigate the crash, with a case being opened into potential violation of safety regulations.
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December 24, 2024 at 11:42PM
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Hungary maintains “constant contacts” with Moscow as part of its strategy, its foreign minister has said
Hungary is interested in expanding cooperation with Russia in areas that are not subject to Western sanctions, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said.
In an interview with RIA Novosti published on Monday, the top diplomat said that Budapest maintains “constant contacts” with the Russian government, because Hungary has its own “clear strategy and position.”
“We have never hidden this and have always spoken about it openly,” Szijjarto stated. “In those areas that are not affected by sanctions, we are absolutely interested in expanding cooperation.”
The minister also did not rule out that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban could visit Russia next year if such a trip were necessary, adding that it is important to maintain a direct dialogue.
“If you cut off communication, you lose hope for peace. And that is something we definitely don’t want,” Szijjarto concluded.
Last week, Brussels adopted its 15th package of economic sanctions against Russia, blacklisting 54 people and 30 entities, oil tankers allegedly connected to Russia, Russian defense firms, and “various Chinese actors” accused of supplying electronic components to the country.
Hungary, which has been granted an extended exemption allowing it to continue buying Russian crude oil, has convinced EU officials to abandon sanctions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Russia’s UN envoy, the Russian Olympic Committee, and two Russian Premier League football teams.
Budapest has consistently opposed unilateral restrictions imposed on Russia, with the top diplomat expressing hope that sanctions will ultimately be lifted.
In an interview with RT earlier this month, Szijjarto said that “economic neutrality is common sense” and blasted Western sanctions which he said caused more harm to the EU than to Russia.
“Economy and energy must not be a matter of political ideology, this is physical and mathematical reality,” the minister said.
Hungary has been a particularly vocal opponent of measures targeting Russia’s energy sector, arguing that EU restrictions are counterproductive.
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December 23, 2024 at 11:18PM
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AfD leader Alice Weidel has the support of 24% of those surveyed, the newspaper has reported
The co-leader of the right-wing AfD (Alternative for Germany) party, Alice Weidel, is ahead of her rivals in the campaign to become the next chancellor, according to the latest survey conducted by the INSA polling institute for Bild.
The results of the poll, published by the tabloid newspaper on Sunday, showed that Weidel has the support of 24% of respondents, putting her ahead of the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, who received 20%.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who represents the Social Democratic Party (SPD), was reportedly backed by 15% of respondents. His coalition partner and Green Party leader, Robert Habeck, was favored by 14%.
The AfD named Weidel, 45, as its first chancellor candidate on December 7, setting out the bid for power ahead of snap elections scheduled for February 23. Weidel is due to be confirmed as the AfD’s nominee at a party conference next month.
In an interview with Bloomberg last week, Weidel accused the EU of destroying the German auto industry, the country’s economic pillar, and proposed winding back the bloc to a free-trade zone.
Earlier this month, the AfD stated in its draft election manifesto that Germany should leave the bloc and the euro in Brexit-like fashion, calling for a referendum on the issue.
AfD membership has swelled by 50% to about 50,600 over the past year, the party’s spokesperson told Reuters earlier his month. That number, however, only represents about 14% of the membership of Germany’s biggest parties, the CDU/CSU conservative bloc and the SPD.
In recent years, right-wing, anti-immigration parties have gained traction across the EU, coming to power in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.
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December 23, 2024 at 12:04AM
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The deaths occurred at separate charity gatherings in the African nation on Saturday, police say
At least 32 people, including children, were killed and several others injured in “tragic stampede” incidents at two separate charity events in Nigeria over the weekend, according to authorities in the West African nation.
Police in the southeastern state of Anambra said in a statement on Sunday that a gathering at a community center in Okija on Saturday claimed the lives of 22 people.
Officials did not specify the event at which the fatal accident occurred. However, state broadcaster Radio Nigeria reported that the crowd had gathered at the venue to receive their share of bags of rice distributed to women ahead of the Christmas holiday season.
Ten locals, including four children, also died in another crowd crush in Maitama, a district of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on the same day, authorities said in a separate statement.
The “tragic incident” occurred while food items were being distributed to “vulnerable and elderly individuals” at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command said on Sunday. More than a thousand people attended the event, it said, adding that eight of them sustained “varying degrees of injuries.”
“To prevent such tragic incidents in the future, the Command mandates that all organizations, religious bodies, groups, or individuals planning public events, charitable activities, or large gatherings in the FCT must notify the Police Command in advance,” the police stated.
“Failure to comply with this directive will result in the organizers being held liable for any incidents or loss of life resulting from negligence,” the authorities warned.
The incidents come just days after 35 children died in a stampede at a holiday funfair in the southwest city of Ibadan. According to local media reports, over 5,000 children had assembled at the venue, where organizers had promised scholarships and other prizes.
Nigeria has been plagued by economic hardship in recent months, following President Bola Tinubu’s elimination of fuel subsidies and sweeping exchange rate reform when he came into office in May 2023. In July last year, the government declared a state of emergency as a result of food shortages and surging prices.
Earlier this year, at least seven people were killed in a stampede in Bauchi, in the northeastern region of Africa’s most populous country, when a crowd of residents gathered to reportedly receive 5,000 naira (around $3.20) each at a charity event.
In response to the latest chaos, President Tinubu canceled all of his official engagements in honor of the victims and urged state and local authorities to enforce strict crowd control policies.
‘‘In a season of joy and celebration, we grieve with fellow citizens mourning the painful losses of their loved ones. Our prayers of divine comfort and healing are with them,’‘ the Nigerian leader said.
Non-profit organization Amnesty International also issued a statement calling on the Nigerian government to “urgently prioritize addressing widespread hunger, higher unemployment, and the rapidly falling standard of living.”
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December 22, 2024 at 11:27PM
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The president hailed the debut of the missile, which was used to hit a Ukrainian weapons manufacturing facility, as “unprecedented”
The successful development of the Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic missile is a landmark achievement both for Russia and the space industry as a whole, President Vladimir Putin has said, adding that he personally ordered its deployment under real conditions.
In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the first use of the Oreshnik missile against a Ukrainian military industrial facility as “not the highlight of the year,” but rather “a historic milestone for the rocket and space industry.”
“Nothing like this has ever happened before. This is the first of its kind when it comes to this type of weapon,” he stressed.
The president admitted that he had a fairly deep understanding of the development process. “There were different opinions about [the missile] in the Defense Ministry. In the end, I supported those who believed that [the Oreshnik] must be produced and gave a direct order to do so, and allocate the necessary resources. I also agreed with those who insisted that it should be tested under combat conditions.”
Moscow used the Oreshnik missile, which previously was held in secret, to strike a Ukrainian arms plant in Dnepr (known as Dnipro in Ukraine) last month, with the strike causing a firestorm in both Western and domestic media. The attack came in response to Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia using foreign-made long-range weapons, something Moscow had repeatedly strongly warned against.
According to Russian officials, the missile is designed to fly at speeds of up to Mach 10 (around 7,600 miles/12,200km per hour), which is roughly ten times the speed of sound. Putin has said that the Oreshnik missile is almost impossible to intercept, even by modern Western-made air defense systems.
Earlier this week, he also pushed back against speculation that the missile could easily be shot down, challenging Western leaders to a “technological duel” and daring them to deploy their air defense systems in Kiev to fend off a wave of Oreshnik strikes.
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December 22, 2024 at 12:11AM
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Calin Georgescu’s surprise first round Romanian election win was canceled due to alleged “irregularities”
An investigation launched by Romanian authorities has discovered that the social media campaign that contributed to last month’s surprise first-round win by independent candidate Calin Georgescu in the country’s presidential election was not funded by Russia but rather by the pro-Western National Liberal Party (PNL), the media outlet Snoop has reported.
A critic of NATO and the EU and a staunch opponent of sending aid to Ukraine, Georgescu topped the first-round vote in Romania with 22.94%, beating other liberal leftist and democrat candidates.
However, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results ahead of the second-round vote, declaring the process would repeat itself at a later date. It cited declassified intelligence documents which have allegedly found irregularities in Georgescu’s performance.
They claimed his candidacy was improperly promoted online, including on TikTok, by paid influencers and extremist right-wing groups, and that his campaign may have benefited from Russian interference – an allegation that Moscow has denied as “absolutely groundless.”
According to Snoop, Romania’s tax authorities analyzed financial flows and discovered that the campaign that promoted Georgescu on TikTok was in fact paid for by the PNL and run by Kensington Communication, a company which provides political marketing services, as well as online campaigns.
The briefs delivered to influencers were aimed at promoting “a responsible attitude and a mature choice” among Romanians that would help the country continue its “democratic path,” wrote Snoop.
Influencers were reportedly given a script to describe the qualities of a future president without giving a name. Some of them however left comments below the videos, providing Georgescu’s name.
“It is a shock to everyone that the public money that taxpayers had provided to the PNL was used to promote another candidate,” one expert involved in the investigation told the publication.
Kensington Communication has issued a statement alleging that its campaign had been “hijacked” or “cloned” and said it would file a criminal complaint.
The leak came on Friday, a day before the expiration of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis' term, and just days before the supreme court is scheduled to hear the case initiated by Georgescu. Iohannis himself had earlier refused to leave office, citing the country's legislation.
Georgescu, who was labelled “pro-Russian” by his critics, filed a lawsuit with the supreme court to challenge the annulment of the election results. The candidate’s lawyer described the situation as “a flagrant violation of the constitution” and “a coup d’état.” The first hearing is scheduled for December 23.
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December 21, 2024 at 11:34PM
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Kirill Bledny claims his rant last year disparaging the language and saying Poles should switch to speaking Russian, was a joke
Ukrainian musician Kirill Bledny has revealed that he has been barred from entering the European Union for publicly disparaging the Polish language last year. Amid a massive backlash from Poles, the frontman of Poshlaya Molly (Vulgar Molly) apologized and claimed that his comments had been made in jest.
The Ukrainian band, whose songs are mainly in Russian, has enjoyed a certain degree of popularity among young audiences in Russia in recent years. Following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the musicians denounced Moscow’s actions, left the country and canceled all upcoming Poshlaya Molly concerts there.
In an interview published on Thursday by the Russian-language outlet Flow, Bledny, whose real last name is Timoshenko, doubled down on his assertion that his rant was a “bad joke.” When asked if his group could still hold concerts in Poland, the 27-year-old said that he’d been barred from entry into the whole of the EU for ten tears.
“It’s f**ked up, I know. [So f**ked up] that it’s even funny,” the artist added.
Bledny recounted how he had to quickly depart Poland in the wake of the scandal, and eventually moved to Georgia. Sometime later, the singer, who had been planning to record an album in Vilnius, attempted to enter Lithuania and was stopped at the border, he revealed. After hours of waiting, an official notified Bledny that he had been barred from entering the EU for three years, according to the interview.
When the artist tried to appeal the decision, he received a document stating that the ban had been extended to ten years, he recalled.
Last November, Bledny posted a short video clip, full of expletives, in which he said: “You know what annoys me in Poland? The Polish language f**king annoys me!”
“I don’t understand why you would speak this f**k-face language when you have the Russian language,” he went on. The singer suggested that Poles should “just learn Russian and f**king speak a normal language.”
“I don’t get it. There’s the Russian Empire – just join it, for f**ck’s sake, join it as you did before,” he ranted.
Bledny's remarks touched on a sensitive historical issue. In the late 18th century, a weakened Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was subjected to a series of partitions by Austria, Prussia and the Russian Empire, resulting in the complete extinction of Polish statehood. Large swaths of Polish lands were integrated into the Russian Empire, remaining part of it until its collapse following the 1917 revolution.
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December 21, 2024 at 01:32AM
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The billionaire has accused the agency of downplaying the severity of the Magdeburg car attack through its choice of language in its reports
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has accused the Associated Press (AP) of disseminating propaganda following the global news agency’s coverage of Friday’s deadly incident at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg.
Musk referred to the agency, commonly known as AP, as “Associated Propaganda” in a post on X that criticizes its reporting of the attack on civilians.
A speeding vehicle rammed into a crowd at Magdeburg’s festive market on Friday evening, resulting in at least four fatalities, including a child, and injuring over 60 people, Bild reported, citing police.
The driver, identified as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor residing in Germany, was detained by police at the scene. Authorities have classified the act as a deliberate attack, though the motive remains under investigation.
Musk’s comment was in response to criticism by an X user that AP’s reporting used passive language that potentially downplayed the severity of the attack. This critique aligns with Musk’s history of challenging mainstream media outlets over perceived biases.
In 2022 Musk expressed concerns about the lack of public trust in news organizations, describing it as a “real problem.” This comment was in response to a Washington Post op-ed that criticized his involvement with X (then Twitter).
Earlier this year Musk claimed that the “propaganda level” in mainstream media is “tediously high” and accused long-established outlets of bias in the narratives that they offer. The attack has prompted increased security measures across Germany, with several towns canceling weekend Christmas markets as a precaution.
Earlier Musk lashed out at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, insisting he must resign immediately, after it emerged that the man who mowed through a crowded Christmas market in Germany was an Arab immigrant with a residence permit.
This incident mirrors previous attacks on Christmas markets in Germany, notably the 2016 Berlin attack in which a truck was deliberately driven into a crowded market, killing 12 people and injuring 56. The attacker in that instance, Anis Amri, a Tunisian national who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, fled the scene and was later killed in a shootout with police in Italy.
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December 21, 2024 at 12:18AM
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Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has said that he will “never” accept money from Kiev
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky of attempting to bribe him €500 million to commit Bratislava to supporting Kiev’s bid to join NATO.
Fico made the revelation at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, shortly after his behind-closed-doors meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of an EU leader’s summit.
The prime minister told journalists that Bratislava could consider “reciprocal measures” after Ukraine refused to extend its gas transit deal with Russia, which is set to expire at the end of the year.
Ukraine cited the ongoing conflict as its reason, raising concerns in Slovakia, which relies on Russian gas supplies transiting through Ukraine. Fico emphasized the need for alternative solutions to avoid a gas crisis.
He recalled that during their talks, the Ukrainian leader declined to allow the transit of fuel, instead offering “absurd” proposals to settle the gas issue.
Fico claimed that, among other things, Zelensky “asked me if I would vote for NATO membership [of Ukraine] if he gave me €500 million from Russian assets” frozen in the West after the outbreak of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
The Slovak PM said that he told the Ukrainian leader straight away that he would “never” agree to such an offer.
“You know my opinion on Ukraine’s membership in NATO, and it is strange that he asked me such a question because he knows very well that Ukraine’s invitation to NATO is completely unrealistic,” he stressed.
Ukrainian opposition MP Artyom Dmitruk, who reportedly fled the country earlier this year fearing prosecution, said that Zelensky has again “disgraced” Ukraine in front of the whole world by trying to bribe Fico.
“I am more than confident that the talk could have been not about the money from the ‘Russian assets,’ but simply about the cash that Ze[lensky] could have brought in a suitcase,” Dmitruk wrote on Telegram on Friday.
Moscow, which views NATO as hostile and vigorously opposes its eastward expansion, highlighted Kiev’s aspirations to join the US-led bloc as being among the main reasons for launching its military operation in February 2022.
However, Kiev kept insisting on its NATO membership throughout the conflict, calling it the only way of deterring Russia. In early December, Zelensky said that he would ask US President Joe Biden to issue a formal invitation to the bloc for Kiev before his successor Donald Trump, who is skeptical about prolonging American aid to Ukraine, is inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
French newspaper Le Monde reported earlier that not only Slovakia, but such member states as the US, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium, Slovenia and Spain are currently against Ukraine joining NATO.
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December 20, 2024 at 11:14PM
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Russia would target foreign instructors if such deployments take place, sources have told The Times
Western officials are concerned about British plans to potentially resume the training of Kiev’s troops inside Ukraine, The Times reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The UK is among the nations that have trained the Ukrainian military on their soil. Valery Zaluzhny, Kiev’s former top general who has been appointed ambassador to London, toured a boot camp in southern England last month to tell these recruits that they should not be afraid to die for their country.
This week, British Defense Secretary John Healey said the UK could send military personnel to Ukraine.
Such a move would help the Ukrainians “motivate and mobilize more recruits,” he suggested during a visit to Kiev.
“The closer to the front, the more efficient the training is,” a Western official told The Times, discussing the merits and drawbacks of such a deployment.
“But it’s fair to say the Russians would target any kind of Western assistance inside Ukraine.”
The UK had sent several dozen instructors into Ukraine in January 2022 to teach Kiev’s forces how to operate British-donated anti-tank missiles, the report added. They were pulled out shortly before direct hostilities with Russia broke out the following month.
Yavorov military base in Western Ukraine, where the training took place, was hit by Russian long-range missiles within weeks, in March 2022.
The Ukrainian military is struggling to replenish manpower, despite a major overhaul of its mobilization system this year, which introduced harsher punishments for draft avoidance and lowered the conscription age to 25 years.
Mandatory conscription makes recruits prone to desertion, according to the media. Kiev’s Western backers claim that moving their training programs closer to the front would bolster the confidence of Ukrainian citizens that they would be properly trained and equipped before being sent into combat.
The Times claimed that Tony Radakin, the chief of the defense staff, overruled Army chief Patrick Sanders, when he was pushing in September 2023 for the UK to train Ukrainian troops inside the country.
Russia considers foreign fighters in Ukraine fair military targets. It claims that some Western service members are secretly on the ground, preparing the launches of donated long-range missiles, including Britain’s Storm Shadows.
This makes the donors de facto participants in the fighting, Russian officials have said. Moscow has condemned the conflict as a Western proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainians are used as ‘cannon fodder’.
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December 20, 2024 at 12:10AM
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Russia should boost productivity and focus on high-tech to cut reliance on low-skilled foreign workers, the president has said
Migration is an “acute issue” for Russia, President Vladimir Putin stated during his traditional end-of-year press conference on Thursday. The country’s labor market is grappling with severe shortages, which the president attributed to a dwindling domestic workforce and a reliance on migrant labor.
To reduce the number of migrants, it is necessary to increase domestic labor productivity and focus on advanced technology that will allow Russia to cut its reliance on low-skilled workers, Putin said.
“The migration issue is acute,” he admitted, adding that illegal immigration must be controlled while skilled foreign workers are welcomed.
The president underscored the need to work with the countries supplying the workforce, primarily Central Asian states, to introduce Russian laws and culture to migrants, and also tighten the requirements for those who are already in Russia.
“It is necessary to tighten the requirements for migrants so that they respect the country in which they live,” the Russian leader stated.
At the same time, Putin highlighted the importance of ensuring rights and guarantees to guest workers in healthcare and social security, “but in such a way that this does not place an additional burden on the local population and people do not feel uncomfortable.”
The president also supported legislation adopted by the Russian parliament earlier this month which will deny free education to children of foreigners who fail to pass a basic language test.
“The State Duma adopted a law providing a right not to admit children of migrants who do not speak Russian to schools. In general, this is understandable: how can a child be taught at school if he does not speak the language? Then you need to study Russian with him separately, who will pay for it?” Putin said.
The new rules, which are part of a legislative effort to curb illegal immigration and criminality linked with guest workers, will enter into force in April 2025.
The changes to the school rules will authorize the government to test children of foreign nationals who enroll in Russian schools for fluency sufficient to comprehend lessons. Those who fail will be barred from regular schools as an exception to the universal right of minors to free basic education. Applicants will also need to prove that they have legitimate residency rights.
There are currently around 6.5 million foreign citizens living in Russia, which has a population of 146 million, according to the Interior Ministry. An estimated 740,000 migrants are illegal.
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December 19, 2024 at 11:32PM
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The Russian president will answer questions from journalists and ordinary people on subjects ranging from foreign policy to the economy
Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a traditional event summarizing the results of the year, which will focus on questions from regular people and journalists, including those from Western countries.
Ahead of the session, the call center has collected over two million questions and requests, which have been processed with the help of AI. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, issues related to the Ukraine conflict, transport infrastructure and economic development are high on the list. He added that many of the requests are already being addressed by relevant ministries and officials.
The event is being attended by a large number of journalists, whose questions mainly concern the international agenda, Peskov said. He added that a few Western reporters will be present as well.
Putin has regularly held such year-end events since 2001, with a few exceptions. Last year, the session lasted more than four hours and the Russian president responded to more than 80 questions and requests.
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December 18, 2024 at 11:12PM
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Two drones disabled the multimillion-dollar weapon operated by Ukraine, according to the Russian Defense Ministry
Russian forces have disabled a US-donated Abrams main battle tank deployed by Ukraine in Kursk Region, the Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.
Drone operators belonging to Russian Airborne Troops used two kamikaze aircraft to take out the costly armored vehicle, according to footage published by the military.
The clip shows the tank rolling down a road as a first-person view (FPV) quadcopter pursues it and strikes its turret. Moments later a second one approaches the same location and hits the vulnerable spot where the turret attaches to the main body.
The Western-donated vehicle was apparently modified by Ukrainian operators, who added an improvised anti-drone cage protecting it from above, which evidently was of little use in this case.
The video released by the ministry concludes with a drone pilot demonstrating a weaponized aircraft, which he says is of the same design as the ones used against the Abrams.
US lawmakers previously approved the transfer of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev, worth $400 million. It was part of a Western effort to bolster the Ukrainian army before its 2023 “counteroffensive” against Russian forces. The operation failed to produce any significant gains.
Earlier this month, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan cited the tank donation as an example of support that garnered a lot of media attention, but had little impact on the battlefield.
“These Abrams tank units are actually undermanned because it’s not the most useful piece of equipment for them in this fight,” he said at the Reagan National Defense Forum.
Kiev launched an offensive into Russia’s Kursk Region in August, with the stated aim of alleviating pressure on other parts of the front and seizing territory to use as a bargaining chip in future peace talks.
Moscow estimates casualties suffered by Ukraine in the push at over 41,000. No amount of Western military aid can change the outcome of the conflict, according to Russian officials. Moscow claims the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden is pouring resources into the fighting to inflict damage on Russia while using Ukrainians as mere “cannon fodder.”
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December 18, 2024 at 12:34AM
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A driver escaped the explosion in Moscow, which claimed the lives of the Igor Kirillov and his aide
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov’s driver, who was waiting to take him to work on Tuesday morning when he was killed in a blast outside his residence, has survived the explosion, Moscow daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday. According to the report, the man sustained only minor injuries, despite his car being badly damaged.
Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces, was assassinated in the early hours of Tuesday morning on Ryazansky Avenue in southeastern Moscow, while exiting his home to head to a work briefing. Russian investigators said an improvised explosive device (IED) packed with TNT had likely been attached to an electric scooter, which was parked between the entrance to the building where the general lived and the nearest lamppost. According to the report, the power of the blast was equivalent to around 1kg of TNT.
The device was possibly detonated remotely once Kirillov stepped out of the building. The general’s aide walked first, and was instantly killed when the blast and shrapnel hit him in the back. Kirillov, who was around 1.5 meters from the explosion, died from fatal injuries shortly afterwards.
Kirillov’s driver was inside his official vehicle, a Toyota Camry, at the time of the blast. He was concussed by the blast wave, which also shattered the car’s windows, and his face and hands were cut by shards of broken glass. The identity of the driver has not been made public. Two more cars parked nearby were also badly damaged, while the explosion shattered windows in Kirillov’s residential building and damaged its entrance.
Authorities have opened a criminal investigation on charges of murder, terrorism, and illegal weapons trafficking. On Wednesday, the Investigative Committee of Russia announced the detention of a suspect linked to the attack. Investigators identified the arrested individual as a citizen of Uzbekistan born in 1995. Reports suggest he had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence and traveled to Moscow to execute the attack.
Investigators reportedly suspect Ukrainian special services in orchestrating the attack, which took place mere hours after the general was accused by Kiev of being linked to the use of chemical agents on the battlefield in Ukraine – a claim Moscow has denied.
Kirillov regularly appeared at military briefings, accusing Kiev and the US of operating biolaboratories and using chemical weapons. Kostroma Region Governor Sergey Sitnikov, who said he was a close friend of Kirillov, revealed on Tuesday that the general had told him that he felt he was “being hunted” for some time. Sitnikov attributed that to Kirillov’s work in unearthing information about secret biological laboratories in Ukraine.
According to the Mash Telegram channel, Kirillov was being watched from a car-sharing vehicle prior to the blast. The car reportedly had a camera, which was aimed at the entrance of Kirillov’s building. The perpetrators are believed to have used this to monitor the general and remotely activate the explosive device.
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December 17, 2024 at 11:35PM
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The North African nation has remained conflict-torn and divided since the NATO-backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011
The United Nations mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has announced a new initiative to resolve issues and hold long-delayed elections. The North African nation has been divided between competing governments since a NATO-backed uprising ousted former leader Muammar Gaddafi over a decade ago.
Stephanie Khoury, acting head of the UNSMIL and deputy special envoy for Libya, made the announcement during a briefing at the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Monday.
“UNSMIL intends to establish an advisory committee to develop options for resolving outstanding issues in the electoral framework and pave the way for the holding of general elections and one government for all Libyans,” she stated.
Khoury clarified that the “time-bound” Libyan expert committee is not a “dialogue group to take decisions,” but rather one that generates options for Libyan decision-makers to consider in the “follow-on phase.”
Libya has remained fragile since Gaddafi’s overthrow and execution in 2011. Rival factions control different parts of the once-prosperous country, with rival authorities in the capital, Tripoli, and the eastern city of Benghazi. There have been several attempts to unite them, but all have failed. Elections scheduled for December 2021 were canceled at the last minute due to disagreements over candidate eligibility and rules, including those for verifying results.
The interim Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, was installed as part of a UN-backed process to prepare for elections. The Libyan parliament no longer recognizes the GNU’s legitimacy, but Dbeibah has said he will only hand over power to a successor when elections are successfully held.
On Monday, Khoury warned that unresolved political issues continue to threaten Libya’s national unity and territorial integrity, weakening the oil-rich country’s transitional structure.
She added that in recent weeks, she has discussed the main features of the mission’s initiative with Libyan stakeholders and regional and international partners. The acting USMIL head said that on Sunday night, she shared the group’s plan to overcome the political deadlock with Libyans.
In response, Libya’s permanent representative to the UN, Taher El-Sonni, who represents the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, asked Security Council members to apologize to the Libyan people for repeating plans that would not result in elections.
“A national dialogue remains the best course to overcome the remaining differences, and that is to reach consensus for completing the general elections as soon as possible,” the envoy stated.
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December 17, 2024 at 12:12AM
from RT - Daily news
via IFTTT
